Seth’s World View

July 16th, 2004, was the longest day of my life. That was 1 year ago yesterday. This past weekend was spent with my friend Jerry camping along the Big South Trail in Poudre Canyon. Saturday, July 16th, was a day of fishing, rest, and reflection.

July 16th, 1 year ago, began at the Christchurch City YHA. The morning began like many others that month…removing my earplugs. When staying in a hostel with 1-7 other people, to not wear earplugs is not to sleep. From there, one wanders into the community bathrooms (in some cases, this means coed) and cleans up for the day. After packing up, a trek is made into the community kitchen, which has most of the kitchen equipment necessary, sometimes even a French Press:)

My friend Mel(anie) picked me up and drove me to the airport. Her brother Sam was one of my flatmates in Wellington. Before going to the gate, I had my last New Zealand latte, which was quite enjoyable. I had read that a passenger can request film be hand-examined so as not to be damaged by the luggage scanners. I got the same answer all 3 times though, that modern scanners are more film friendly, and so I had to put the film through. My first flight was from Christchurch to Auckland, probably about an hour flight. After getting my luggage (which consisted of a backpack and daypack), I checked in and waited about 4 hours for my next flight.

I boarded the 747 and prepared myself for the 12 hour flight across the Pacific. It was about 2pm, or thereabouts. I know I watched a movie or two, talked with the person next to me, and slept. Right now, that is all I remember. Before arriving in the US, I had to fill out the customs paperwork, and once customs was overwith, I finally felt like I was in the US again. It was hot and muggy, but that’s LA in the summer. More significantly, it was around the same time I left, early afternoon, July 16th!

I went to check-in, and then found out I wasn’t booked. It had been a long day thus far, and, well, I was tired, and very unhappy at that point. Air New Zealand, when changing my return ticket, didn’t rebook my US Airways ticket!!!!!!!! If the lady behind the counter followed strict policy, my ticket would be viewed as expired and I would have to buy a new ticket! Thankfully, she only charged me a change-ticket fee, which I was still unhappy about, but much less than if I bought a new one. At that point, I just wanted to go home.

The flight from LA to Pittsburgh was about 5 hours, and upon getting my luggage, I soon found my brother Doug. It was probably about 10pm, on, of course, July 16th. We headed back to Erie, PA, and had we not stopped briefly to eat, I would have made it home before midnight. So, when I say it was the longest day of my life, I mean that very literally.

Reflections on New Zealand and this past year will follow the next several days…cheers.